Wind and solar power helped prevent up to 12,700 deaths in US

August 15, 2017

The massive increase in wind and solar energy helped prevent the premature deaths of up to 12,700 people over a nine-year period in the US, according to new research which illustrates the wider benefits of ditching fossil fuels beyond limiting global warming.The lower carbon emissions were worth billions of dollars as a result of the avoidance of the range of problems caused by fossil fuels, according to a paper about the study published in the journal, Nature Energy.The UK Government has pledged that the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from 2040 – a deadline criticised by environmentalists as being too far in the future to make a difference. In contrast, Norway plans to phase out such vehicles by 2025.According to the Royal College of Physicians, about 40,000 deaths a year in the UK are “attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution”, which has been associated …READ MORE ON INDEPENDENT.CO.UK